UIGHUR Act of 2019

In the House of Representatives, U. S., December 3, 2019. Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 178) entitled ‘‘An Act to condemn gross human rights violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, and calling for an end to arbi- trary detention, torture, and harassment of these commu- nities inside and outside China.’’, do pass with the following AMENDMENT: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Uighur Intervention and 2 Global Humanitarian Unified Response Act of 2019’’ or the 3 ‘‘UIGHUR Act of 2019’’. 4 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 5 The purpose of this Act is to direct United States re- 6 sources to address human rights violations and abuses, in- 7 cluding gross violations of human rights, by the People’s 8 Republic of China’s mass surveillance and internment of 9 over 1,000,000 Uighurs and other predominantly Turkic 10 Muslim ethnic minorities in China’s Xinjiang Uighur Au- 11 tonomous Region. 12 2 •S 178 EAH SEC. 3. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES. 1 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 2 mittees’’ means— 3 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Com- 4 mittee on Financial Services, and the Committee on 5 Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and 6 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 7 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 8 and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. 9 SEC. 4. FINDINGS. 10 Congress makes the following findings: 11 (1) The Government of the People’s Republic of 12 China has a long history of repressing Turkic Mus- 13 lims, particularly Uighurs, in China’s Xinjiang 14 Uighur Autonomous Region. 15 (2) In May 2014, Chinese authorities launched 16 their latest ‘‘Strike Hard against Violent Extremism’’ 17 campaign, using wide-scale, internationally-linked 18 threats of terrorism as a pretext to justify pervasive 19 restrictions on and human rights violations of mem- 20 bers of the ethnic minority communities of the 21 Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. The August 22 2016 transfer of former Tibet Autonomous Region 23 Party Secretary Chen Quanguo to become the 24 Xinjiang Party Secretary prompted an acceleration 25 in the crackdown across the region. Scholars, human 26 3 •S 178 EAH rights organizations, journalists, and think tanks 1 have provided ample evidence substantiating the es- 2 tablishment by Chinese authorities of ‘‘reeducation’’ 3 camps. Since 2014, Chinese authorities have detained 4 no less than 800,000 Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, 5 Kyrgyz, and other ethnic minorities in these camps. 6 (3) Those detained in such facilities have de- 7 scribed forced political indoctrination, torture, beat- 8 ings, and food deprivation, as well as denial of reli- 9 gious, cultural, and linguistic freedoms, and con- 10 firmed that they were told by guards that the only 11 way to secure release was to demonstrate sufficient 12 political loyalty. Poor conditions and lack of medical 13 treatment at such facilities appear to have contrib- 14 uted to the deaths of some detainees, including the el- 15 derly and infirm. 16 (4) Uighurs and ethnic Kazakhs, who have now 17 obtained permanent residence or citizenship in other 18 countries, attest to receiving threats and harassment 19 from Chinese officials. At least five journalists for 20 Radio Free Asia’s Uighur service have publicly de- 21 tailed abuses their family members in Xinjiang have 22 endured in response to their work exposing abusive 23 policies across the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Re- 24 gion. 25 4 •S 178 EAH (5) In September 2018, United Nations High 1 Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet 2 noted in her first speech as High Commissioner the 3 ‘‘deeply disturbing allegations of large-scale arbitrary 4 detentions of Uighurs and other Muslim communities, 5 in so-called re-education camps across Xinjiang’’. 6 (6) The Government of the People’s Republic of 7 China’s actions against Turkic Muslims in the 8 Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, whose popu- 9 lation was approximately 13 million at the time of 10 the last Chinese census in 2010, are in contravention 11 of international human rights laws, the International 12 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Ra- 13 cial Discrimination, and the Convention against Tor- 14 ture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treat- 15 ment or Punishment, both of which China has signed 16 and ratified, and the Universal Declaration of 17 Human Rights and the International Covenant on 18 Civil and Political Rights, which China has signed. 19 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 20 It is the sense of Congress that— 21 (1) the President should condemn abuses against 22 Turkic Muslims by Chinese authorities and call on 23 such authorities immediately— 24 (A) to close the ‘‘reeducation’’ camps; 25 5 •S 178 EAH (B) to lift all restrictions on and ensure re- 1 spect for human rights; and 2 (C) to allow those inside China to reestab- 3 lish contact with their loved ones, friends, and 4 associates outside China; 5 (2) the Secretary of State should— 6 (A) fully implement the provisions of the 7 Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom 8 Act (Public Law 114–281); and 9 (B) should consider strategically employing 10 sanctions and other tools under the International 11 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401 12 et seq.), including measures required by reason of 13 the designation of the People’s Republic of China 14 as a country of particular concern for religious 15 freedom under section 402(b)(1)(A)(ii) of such 16 Act that directly address particularly severe vio- 17 lations of religious freedom; 18 (3) the Secretary of State should work with 19 United States allies and partners as well as through 20 multilateral institutions to condemn the mass arbi- 21 trary detention of Uighurs in China’s Xinjiang 22 Uighur Autonomous Region and coordinate closely 23 with the international community on targeted sanc- 24 tions and visa restrictions; and 25 6 •S 178 EAH (4) the journalists of the Uighur language service 1 of Radio Free Asia should be commended for their re- 2 porting on the human rights and political situation 3 in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region despite 4 efforts by the Government of the People’s Republic of 5 China to silence or intimidate their reporting through 6 the detention of family members and relatives in 7 China, and the United States should expand the 8 availability of and capacity for Uighur language pro- 9 gramming on Radio Free Asia in the region. 10 SEC. 6. UPDATING STATEMENT OF UNITED STATES POLICY 11 TOWARD THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 12 Section 901(b) of the Foreign Relations Authorization 13 Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 (Public Law 101–246; 104 14 Stat. 84) is amended— 15 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (7), (8), and (9) 16 as paragraphs (8), (9), and (10), respectively; and 17 (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol- 18 lowing: 19 ‘‘(7) United States policy toward the People’s 20 Republic of China should be explicitly linked with the 21 situation in China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous 22 Region, specifically as to whether— 23 7 •S 178 EAH ‘‘(A) the mass internment of ethnic Uighur 1 and other Turkic Muslims in ‘political edu- 2 cation’ camps has ended; 3 ‘‘(B) all political prisoners in the region are 4 released; 5 ‘‘(C) the use of high-tech mass surveillance 6 and predictive policing to discriminate against 7 and violate the human rights of members of spe- 8 cific ethnic groups is evident in other parts of 9 China; and 10 ‘‘(D) the Government of the People’s Repub- 11 lic of China has ended efforts aimed at cultural 12 assimilation and particularly severe restrictions 13 of religious practice in the region;’’. 14 SEC. 7. APPLICATION OF SANCTIONS UNDER GLOBAL 15 MAGNITSKY HUMAN RIGHTS ACCOUNT- 16 ABILITY ACT WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN 17 SENIOR OFFICIALS OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUB- 18 LIC OF CHINA. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 20 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit 21 to the appropriate congressional committees a list of senior 22 officials of the Government of the People’s Republic of China 23 who the President determines are responsible for or who 24 have knowingly engaged in serious human rights abuses 25 8 •S 178 EAH against Turkic Muslims in the Xinjiang Uighur Autono- 1 mous Region and elsewhere in China. Such list shall in- 2 clude the following: 3 (1) Senior Chinese officials, such as Xinjiang 4 Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, who are directly re- 5 sponsible for the ongoing repression in the Xinjiang 6 Uighur Autonomous Region. 7 (2) Senior Chinese officials responsible for mass 8 incarceration, political indoctrination, or reeducation 9 efforts targeting Uighurs and other predominantly 10 Muslim ethnic minorities. 11 (b) FORM.—The list required under subsection (a) 12 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain 13 a classified annex. 14 (c) SANCTIONS IMPOSED.—On the date on which the 15 President submits to the appropriate congressional commit- 16 tees the list described in subsection (a), and as appropriate 17 thereafter, the President shall impose the sanctions de- 18 scribed in section 1263(b) of the Global Magnitsky Human 19 Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public 20 Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) with respect to any 21 foreign person that the President has identified on the list. 22 (d) EXCEPTION FOR UNITED NATIONS HEAD- 23 QUARTERS AGREEMENT; ENFORCEMENT.—Subsections (e) 24 and (f) of section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky Human 25 9 •S 178 EAH Rights Accountability Act apply with respect to the imposi- 1 tion of sanctions under this section to the same extent as 2 such subsections apply with respect to the imposition of 3 sanctions under such section 1263. 4 (e) WAIVER FOR NATIONAL INTERESTS.—The Presi- 5 dent may waive the imposition of sanctions under sub- 6 section (c) if the President— 7 (1) determines that such a waiver is in the na- 8 tional interests of the United States; and 9 (2) submits to the appropriate congressional 10 committees notice of, and a justification for, the waiv- 11 er. 12 (f) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The President shall 13 issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as are necessary 14 to carry out this section. 15 (g) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF 16 GOODS.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and require- 18 ments to impose sanctions authorized under this Act 19 shall not include the authority or requirement to im- 20 pose sanctions on the importation of goods. 21 (2) GOOD DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term 22 ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or man-made sub- 23 stance, material, supply or manufactured product, in- 24 10 •S 178 EAH cluding inspection and test equipment, and excluding 1 technical data. 2 SEC. 8. REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN CHINA’S 3 XINJIANG UIGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 6 in consultation with the heads of other relevant Federal de- 7 partments and agencies and civil society organizations, 8 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 9 and make available on the website of the Department of 10 State a report on human rights abuses in the Xinjiang 11 Uighur Autonomous Region. 12 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report required 13 by subsection (a) shall include the following: 14 (1) An assessment of the number of individuals 15 detained in political ‘‘reeducation camps’’ in the re- 16 gion and conditions in the camps for detainees, in- 17 cluding an assessment, to the extent practicable, of 18 whether detainees endure torture, efforts at forced re- 19 nunciation of their faith, or other mistreatment. 20 (2) An assessment of, to the extent practicable, 21 the number of individuals in the region in highly-con- 22 trolled forced labor camps. 23 (3) A description of the methods used by People’s 24 Republic of China authorities to ‘‘reeducate’’ Uighur 25 11 •S 178 EAH detainees, including an identification of the Chinese 1 agencies in charge of such reeducation. 2 (4) An assessment of the use and nature of forced 3 labor in and related to the detention of Turkic Mus- 4 lims in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, and 5 a description of foreign companies and industries 6 benefitting from such labor in the region. 7 (5) An assessment of the level of access to the re- 8 gion Chinese authorities grant to foreign diplomats 9 and consular agents, independent journalists, and 10 representatives of nongovernmental organizations. 11 (6) An assessment of the repressive surveillance, 12 detection, and control methods used by Chinese au- 13 thorities in the region. 14 (7) A description, as appropriate, of diplomatic 15 efforts by United States allies and other nations to 16 address the gross violations of universally recognized 17 human rights in the region and to protect asylum 18 seekers from the region. 19 12 •S 178 EAH SEC. 9. RESTRICTIONS ON EXPORT, REEXPORT, AND IN- 1 COUNTRY TRANSFERS OF CERTAIN ITEMS 2 THAT PROVIDE A CRITICAL CAPABILITY TO 3 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUB- 4 LIC OF CHINA TO SUPPRESS INDIVIDUAL PRI- 5 VACY, FREEDOM, AND OTHER BASIC HUMAN 6 RIGHTS. 7 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 8 United States to protect the basic human rights of Uighurs 9 and other ethnic minorities in the People’s Republic of 10 China. 11 (b) LIST OF COVERED ITEMS.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after 13 the date of the enactment of this Act, and as appro- 14 priate thereafter, the President— 15 (A) shall identify those items that provide a 16 critical capability to the Government of the Peo- 17 ple’s Republic of China, or any person acting on 18 behalf of such Government, to suppress indi- 19 vidual privacy, freedom of movement, and other 20 basic human rights, specifically through— 21 (i) surveillance, interception, and re- 22 striction of communications; 23 (ii) monitoring of individual location 24 or movement or restricting individual move- 25 ment; 26 13 •S 178 EAH (iii) monitoring or restricting access to 1 and use of the internet; 2 (iv) monitoring or restricting use of so- 3 cial media; 4 (v) identification of individuals 5 through facial recognition, voice recognition, 6 or biometric indicators; 7 (vi) detention of individuals who are 8 exercising basic human rights; and 9 (vii) forced labor in manufacturing; 10 and 11 (B) shall, pursuant to the Export Control 12 Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801 et seq.), in- 13 clude items identified pursuant to subparagraph 14 (A) on the Commerce Control List in a category 15 separate from other items, as appropriate, on the 16 Commerce Control Lis [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]